Armored Car
Cast & Crew
Lewis R. Foster
Robert Wilcox
Judith Barrett
Cesar Romero
Irving Pichel
David Oliver
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Larry Willis and Bill Wane are security guards who ride in the back of Banks Co. armored trucks. When they barely avoid a robbery, they return to headquarters, where their boss John Hale introduces them to detective Tom Sheridan, who will be working with them to uncover a new gang of robbers. Larry, who is in love with Ella, the daughter of Banks dispatcher "Dad" Logan, finally realizes he is ready to make a commitment and starts saving his money to buy her an engagement ring. One night, Larry is supposed to go out with Ella, but Dad assigns him to make a pick up at a factory. Henry Hutchins, a new recruit, offers to go instead because he needs the overtime to support his wife and new baby. Unfortunately, the robbers have mined the only road leading out of the factory, and Henry and his partner are killed in the explosion. The robbers, led by Walinsky, a pipe organ fanatic, discover that although they have blown open the armored car, they still need keys to get inside the safe within the car. Larry feels guilty about Henry's death, but when he is called into Hale's office, he is fired for concealing a previous prison record and his real name. After this he avoids his coworkers and Ella and while getting drunk, vows revenge against the Banks Company. He is overheard by Walinsky's cohorts, and his second-in-command, Petack, approaches Larry with an offer to hire him. Although Ella still loves Larry, he joins up with the gangsters and gives them his duplicate keys to the safes of the Banks customers. Larry participates in robbing the Jewel Theatre, and although he gets away, he is identified at the scene of the crime. Larry relinquishes his set of keys for the armored car safe to Petack, who takes him with the gang to a farmhouse hideout near the road to the remote factory. They mine the bridge and then get some sleep before the Banks truck comes. When they awaken they discover that Larry has escaped. He has gone to a nearby farmhouse where he calls Sheridan, with whom he is working undercover, to warn him of the mines. Unfortunately, the truck has already gone out and Sheridan tells Larry he must stop it. Larry borrows the farmer's car and rushes to intercept the Banks truck. Although Bill and his partner recognize Larry, they refuse to stop, because they believe that he is a suspect. Desperate to stop them, Larry shoots the tires, and is shot in the arm by Bill. The truck stops just before the bridge, which explodes, but no one is harmed. Police arrive just in time to arrest the criminals, except for Walinsky and Petack. The gangsters elude an extensive manhunt, until Walinsky shoots Petack, who was going to give himself up, and goes to church to hear the organ. When he hears the sirens outside, he steps out of the church doors and starts shooting, and is shot to death by the police. Larry and Ella reunite and are married.